How Do I Repair An Uneven Paint Job?

Q: I recently painted 3 accent walls my apartment here in Los Angeles. One wall, blue, in the living room, and 2 walls, grey, in the bedroom. I love the colors and they were heavily inspired by postings on Apartment Therapy. However, my paint job didn’t turn out so well. I used painter’s tape (I tried standard blue, then tried Frog Tape) and even with the tape on, the paint got underneath and created some really not straight lines.

I’m wondering, what is the best way to fix this? Anything I can do, or should I bring in someone? Any recommendations from the AT community about how to fix my uneven painting job to a nicer finish?

Sent by Erich

Editor – We’ve had this happen a few times ourselves on older uneven walls. We waited for the paint to dry, carefully used painter’s tape on the newly painted side and repainted the white areas using a roller, a tiny brush for speckles/splatters, and a sponge. In certain instances, paint remover can be helpful to clean up areas where paint should not have been applied; the process can take awhile, but it beats repainting.

We’re quite certain a few readers out there have some secret painting tips that can save a slightly messed up result. Please share any tips with Erich and the rest of the community below.